Tag / chee-cheong-fun

One of the things we missed quite a bit after moving to Shah Alam was a good place to have dimsum. In PJ, good dimsum place is a dime a dozen, but Shah Alam and Klang aren’t exactly populated with a lot of Cantonese, so it gets a little trickier when the lady gets her dimsum cravings.

And then we found Yat Pan Dim Sum, a place that was both found by Haze via the phone, and suggested by a reader (as I recalled later, thanks!).

Yat Pan Dim Sum at Bandar Botanic, Klang

Yat Pan Dim Sum is located at Bandar Botanic, across the road from AEON Bukit Tinggi and just a couple minutes off Kesas Highway. On the weekend we were there, the entire commercial area was pretty desolate, hence parking was not exactly an exercise of patience like, for example, Jin Xuan in PJ.

xiao long bao, chee cheong fun, scallop siu mai, herbal siu mai

At Yat Pan, every dimsum is made to order.

You pick what you want from the menu, jot it down on little piece of ordering paper, and then hand it to the server (when they notice you waving frantically). Some 10-15 minutes later (it felt a lot longer, but photo time-stamps never lie), you get your dimsum freshly done and served.

Perhaps due to the made to order style, the dishes were actually pretty good (maybe except the golden shrimp salad which was a bit underwhelming). The wu kok was one of the best I’ve had from anywhere, and char siu bao too really sweet and wholesome, the xiao long bao too was worth ordering for sure.

If you are not in a real hurry and dimsum is on your mind, this is definitely one of the places worthy of visit.

While Klang is famous for bak kut teh, there are other options for food just in case the pork laden goodness is not exactly your most favorite thing ever (like it should). Today, let’s look at the pretty awesome chee cheong fun and yong tau foo stall that is Long Kei at Taman Eng Ann.

there’s always a queue in front of Long Kei

We actually stumbled upon this shop while looking for parking to get to the Eng Ann morning market. There always seems to be a healthy queue in front of the shop, a surefire indication that the food must be at least decent.

If you want to try one of each, you better come prepared with really big appetite.

two satisfied customers

We chose about 8-10 items to go with chee cheong fun. The sauce here isn’t overly complex but they seemed to get it just right, not overly sweet nor too thick. With the homemade chili sauce and a sprinkle of sesame seeds, it made for a more than decent meal for two under RM 20 (including drinks).

I think this could be one of our regular places whenever dimsum/yong tau foo cravings come calling.

Lets go back to one of my favorite breakfast spots in town at Imbi Market, and this time, we look at Ah Fook Chee Cheong Fun, one of the busiest hawker stalls.

Ah Fook Chee Cheong Fun at Imbi Market, always with a queue

While chee cheong fun is on the banner, the stall is actually very popular with their yong tau foo that is prepared fresh everyday and cook right on the spot. Fresh yong tao foo is definitely the way to go.

As for chee cheong fun, there are two types to choose from, the usual plain type, and the On Soon chee cheong fun that comes embedded with some ingredients. I always choose the latter.

a good selection of yong tau foo made from scratch on the spot

The selection of yong tau foo is pretty good as well, with a few types I haven’t seen anywhere, such as long beans and “four angle beans”. There’s also a few types of tofu, tofupok, and fish balls as well. My favorite piece is however, their fried fu chuk. If you’re a fan of fu chuk, you gotta try this.

chee cheong fun with yong tau foo, awesome breakfast combination

As a bonus, imbi market also serves the best Hainanese tea from Ah Weng Koh’s stall. So if you’re up to a wholesome breakfast, here’s surely a place to check out. Close on Mondays.

We traveled to Macau in late July 2014 for a three day two night of sightseeing and food spotting trip, and I’m happy to report that when it comes to food, this former Portuguese colony surely did not disappoint.

Should you find yourself at Macau, here are some of the places you may want to check out. This is the entry where I cover snacks and cheap eats, there will be another talking about the few restaurants that we tried during the trip.

we arrived at Macau on the evening, beautiful cityscape

As for weather, Macau isn’t different from Malaysia at this time of the year (July), temperature and humidity are pretty much the same, so light clothing and perhaps an umbrella if you’re afraid of the heat is advised.

The city is one that never sleeps, and I got the impression that it was very safe to walk around at any time of day. Public transportation by bus is very good, so keep plenty of coins and small change available as change is not provided on the buses.

HK dollars as well as Macanese Pataca or MOP are accepted pretty much everywhere, including the buses. At the time of travel, 1 MOP = 0.40 MYR.

Pro tip: there are many free hotel shuttle buses going to and from the airport, you can utilize them even if you don’t stay at the same hotel.

road side stall with chee cheong fun and dimsum in the city

The first thing we tried at Macau was this little road side stall situated opposite Centro Commercial Central.

We tried the chee cheong fun with siu mai which was priced at $30 MOP. The sauce was lighter than the one usually served in Malaysia, and the chili sauce has a stronger taste of vinegar to it. We found it pretty delicious and fitting as a pre-dinner snack or post-dinner supper.

When in Macau, one of the snacks that you must not miss is the famous Portuguese egg tart at Margaret’s Cafe e Nata.

The egg tarts are $8 MOP each and was really as good as everyone claimed. The pastry soft yet crunchy, and the filling smooth and super flavorful with the aroma of milk and egg at their best. We only had 2 each but we really should have brought more. It was very delicious!

There’s always a queue at the shop, but you wouldn’t have to wait for more than a few minutes before being served.

Right next door to the egg tart place is Sang Lei, a shop that perhaps thrive thanks to Margaret’s being constantly filled to the brim. We tried fried fish paste ($19 MOP), pork bun ($22 MOP), and beef tendon noodle soup ($22 MOP) there.

The food actually turned out pretty decent. The fish paste is pretty similar to those we get in Malaysia but tasted fresher, the beef tendon noodle was simple but if you’re a fan of tendon, you’d be delighted. The pork bun though, did not impress.

While trying to go to Taipa island by bus on the second day, we accidentally took the bus heading to the wrong direction and ended up at this little strip of shops at Rua Dois do Bairro lao Hon, which is located near the border between Macau and China up north.

Since I was hungry, we stopped by Sek Kei for a roast goose rice that was served in a styrofoam box commonly for those who wants it to go. Lucky for us Sek Kei actually has ONE table in their shop that I could eat. It turned out to be rather good and only cost us $27 MOP for the meal!

As for dessert in Macau, Yee Shun steamed milk is the one place that shouldn’t be missed.

The steamed milk custard ($28 MOP) has the consistency of our familiar “tau fu fa” but with that creamy aroma of fresh milk that made it so irresistible. We also tried their warm milk ($22 MOP) and papaya milk ($30 MOP) which did not disappoint either. The same place also serves sandwiches, eggs, and even pork bun.

Even as a person who’s slightly lactose intolerant, I now want to know how to make this at home!

The story of my experience on the Seksyen 14 Hai Keng restaurant chee cheong fun started out on a Monday morning when I posted a photo of chee cheong fun at Petaling Street on instagram and facebook.

With the motorcycle as my primary transport to work, I often have the luxury of stopping by for breakfast at different places in the morning prior to office hours. A source of daily envy for many other rat racers, but I digress…

Hai Keng kopitiam, located near Digital Mall at PJ Seksyen 14

It was from there that Elie left this comment “You made me want to eat chee cheong fun. Have you tried the Section 14 one?”

A couple replies later I got the location right, and 2 days later I found myself at Hai Keng kopitiam ordering my chee cheong fun at 7:20 am in the morning.

the chee cheong fun with yong tau foo was pretty good actually

Since the stall also offers yong tau foo, I added a piece of okra and red chili to go with the small plate of chee cheong fun (total RM 3). Truth be told, it was quite delicious, the chee cheong fun was smooth, and the yong tau foo pretty decent as well. The combination did make a good breakfast and I liked it.

I posted the photo on the same social networks and immediately found out that I had actually ordered from the wrong stall! Who would have thought that there are two different chee cheong fun stalls in the same kopitiam?

this is the “correct” old school chee cheong fun at Hai Keng

So I went there again the very next day to try out the “correct” chee cheong fun stall.

Hidden at the very back of the restaurant sits this unassuming stall that is manned by an old man and his son (I assume) serving old school Ipoh style chee cheong fun. I ordered a plate that comes with the sweet sauce, chili, and a side of pickled green chili too.

The chee cheong fun wasn’t warm, and the portion cost RM 3, same as the one with yong tau foo.

But it was a totally different experience. The chee cheong fun itself just somehow got it right. There are places where you have it just a bit too blant, or too sticky, or too thick, too sweet, too something. This stall just gets it right. It was delicious, and it was worth it.

If you’re a fan of chee cheong fun, this is a stall not to miss.

That being said, I didn’t regret the one with yong tau foo either. I guess two chee cheong fun stalls can indeed coexist in the same premise.

Hai Keng is located opposite Dae Jang Gum, a pretty good Korean restaurant especially if you’re a fan of Kimchi Jiggae.